Shore Leave: The Bar

Thaliyak. Got it. Nice custom. Ah'm guessin' he's not human, eh? It's great yeh fell fer his mind. It's an underapppreshiated organ.

The sudden seriousness is a bit of a slap across the face, waking Alex up enough for her to follow the order. Some things, no matter how drunk you are, are so ingrained that you simply just do them.

She's three quick steps toward her cottage before she even realizes what she's doing.

Wisdom and training win out over curiosity and mischief, and Alex continues on to her own cottage with only a few missteps and wobbles along the way. She opens the comm to resort security. "Security, we have an intruder in..." she begins, realizing that for the life of her she can't remember the cottage number, and swearing under her breath. "Lt. Commander Borealis's cottage. Please send someone to check it out as soon as possible. Commander Shawna Cassano is on site and checking it out. She is not the intruder."

At the bar

She stands and shakes her hand. Lieutenant Commander Moira Bruce, USS Potential. Fer disaster. She snickers, remembering her song. But she looks at Zephyr and sighs. Ah hope ta talk ta yeh soon, Ensign Julia Lloyd - fer- a- bit - longer.

She winks at Stone and downs the shot he passed her. She lets out (amusingly enough) a lion-like groan and flops her head on the table. Now sober, but head-throbbing, she gives a weak smile to Stone.

This has gotten me out of quite a bit a' trouble, in years past friend. But it still sucks. Thank yeh. She nudges Zephyr. Oi. Zeph. Zephyr. Lieutenant Commander. She squares up her tab, throws him over her shoulder (the thump makes her head hurt), and heads out. She chats pleasantly with him along the way, figuring he'll respond eventually.

Cass sits back in her chair and crosses her legs. "Well, considering that you broke into the cottage of my crew member and personal friend, I'm taking vetting you and your story pretty seriously. So, again, if you don't want me to call security on you, I suggest you answer my questions. Now, how do you know Zephyr?"

"Lt. Commander Alexandra Lloyd," replies Alex, all the while looking at the curious envelope with narrowed eyes. "I will do that. And thank you."

As she exits her cottage, she scoops up the envelope, taking a brief look at the outside for any distinguishing marks or writing, and finds her name written on the outside. Lifting an eyebrow skeptically, she folds it and puts it in her pocket for later study. As she starts back toward her door and eventually Zephyr's cottage, she stops, holding a hand to her stomach. "I really should've taken Moira up on that Lion's Bile or whatever it was she called it..."

Suddenly, she turns on a heel and hurries into the bathroom, where she is noisily sick.

Cass heaves a sigh and shakes her head, gazing around the room. It looks casual, but she's looking for anything she might be able to use as a weapon if Vega decides to escalate this confrontation. "I'm not trying to pry into Zeph's life, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm not letting him walk into this cottage to encounter an intruder alone."

Alex reemerges, pale but less wobbly. Giving her head a shake to try and clear it further, she exits the cottage and returns to where she left Cass. She wears a resolute look, but doesn't appear particularly worried, and while she moves quickly, it's not a run either. Luckily, it's only a short distance to the other cottage, and she's soon near the window that they spied the intruder through earlier. Seeing Cass in conversation with this strange woman, Alex frowns, watching for a moment while deciding how to introduce herself into the situation.

Moira finds it odd to see four jogging security officers at this hour, but she realizes that hauling an officer fireman-style who had been taken hostage less than a month before might be considered poor form. She gently sits him down by a palm tree and pops her earbuds over his ears.

And blasts "Scotland the Brave."

Oi! Zeph! Are yeh dead?

Alex moves to a window that should put her in line of sight to Cass. When the other woman in the room isn't looking, Alex waves her arms, hoping to snag Cass's attention, but either it's too dark or Cass is still suffering some degree of sensory impairment, or some such issue. When her animated waving does no good, Alex moves around to the door again and signals it to open.

"Zephyr? Are you back yet? Anyone..." she calls, and makes a show of being surprised to find two women here and no Zephyr.

"Cass? Where's Zephyr?" she says, frowning slightly. "And who's this?"

Cass plays along with Alex's fiction. "Oh, hi, Alex. Meet the mysterious Vega, who broke into Zephyr's cottage and refuses to answer any questions. Vega, this is another ship mate and friend of Zephyr's, Lt. Commander Lloyd."